<p>haha slisenberger i definitely agree. and not just any political correctness – the extreme stuff where people are fired for looking at someone the wrong way. northstar, take your all-encompassing, spiteful judgment somewhere else. we are trying to be constructive and helpful here. that is all that my friend deserves.</p>
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<p>Bravo NSM !!! Very well said. like you, I never participated in a food fight in my life. Those who did when I was younger were immature fools. Alas we have some parents here who participated in this type of ridiculous behavior when they were younger and see no problem with others doing so now. That to me is a poor reflection on them</p>
<p>"What I see is a smart kid, with more personality than the quiet, mousy bookworm who never talks to anyone but can analyze Hemingway, who decided to participate in something interesting. It was juvenile, sure. It was a case of poor judgment, sure; the consequences of the food fight were obviously bigger than he realized at the time.</p>
<p>But, after the day was over, the problems facing the school had nearly vanished. The cafeteria had been cleaned up, and that was the extent of what needed to be done.</p>
<p>Here, I’ll say that again. The school was -not harmed- besides being dirty, which was later -remedied by the students who perpetrated the event-.</p>
<p>It was juvenile, yes. It was immature, yes. But it was ultimately -trivial-. Even the top leaders in the world have lapses in judgment. My mother, the most law-abiding woman I know, got a speeding ticket for accidentally going 10 over. The crime, in this case, was a -harmless food fight-. It was a disruption of the normal events, but it DIDN’T HURT ANYBODY.</p>
<p>I fail to see how such a trivial event, analogous to making a joke in poor taste, deserves such strict punishment, especially for the student body president."</p>
<p>It wasn’t a trivial event. The students participated in an activity that broke a rule and could have harmed other students and the school property.</p>
<p>The brightest students and those who are selected to be leaders are held to a higher standard than are other students. The brightest students and those in high offices like SGA president are expected to be role models.</p>
<p>I don’t see how participating in a food fight indicates one has an admirable personality. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, when it comes to the very top schools. they aren’t interested in accepting mousy, shy, students whose only activity is studying. Those schools also aren’t interested in accepting smart, gregarious students who use their social skills to plan things like food fights.</p>
<p>Such schools attract plenty of applicants who are smart, have good social skills and use their smarts and leadership talents to create and organize activities that serve the school and the community. </p>
<p>“I will hazard to guess that you are the kind of person who embraces political correctness.”</p>
<p>I’ve never liked the term "political correctness, " and I think that many people use the term to indicate that people shouldn’t discuss controversial issues. I believe in being able to discuss controversial issues in a thoughtful way without name calling or lying about one’s opinions.</p>
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<p>And how is the OP being punished forever? He can still get into many colleges (albeit perhaps not some of the top ones due to his transgressions) and once he does, all will be forgotten.</p>
<p>No one has a right to be accepted into the top school they apply to. they have to EARN it - through ALL of their actions. You can’t selectively pick and choose just the good things and dismiss the bad</p>
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<p>And just what is too perfect? Someone who adheres to their schools rules and doesn’t get suspended? A young adult can learn good morals, integrity and leadership without resorting to juvenile behavior and rulebreaking.</p>
<p>The fact stands that charismatic smart kids are going to interact with their peers with less leadership skills. I think it’s easy to see how a kid with social skills can get caught into the mindset of being a kid (this food fight is pretty typical of being teenage) and interact with other people.</p>
<p>Our major disagreement is on the severity of the crime; Of course he should get in trouble for breaking a rule. That’s the point of rules. But suspensions, in general, are rarely effective punishments, for instead of encouraging positive action, they tell the student “don’t do anything”. Similarly, a suspension is usually reserved -only- for cases when the student is deemed a hazard to other students/teachers. Why else would someone be removed from a school for a short period of time? It’s because they are considered to pose a danger to other people at the school.</p>
<p>Sure, someone -could- have gotten hurt in a mashed potato fling-off. Someone is just as likely to get hurt when a desk in science class collapses (I’ve been in two desks that have collapsed in the last three years). One needs to weigh the -true- harm of the event, not the hypothetical “well, you could have…”, unless the situation posed a -serious- probability of harming someone. I really don’t think flying macaroni has a huge propensity to hurt a kid.</p>
<p>People get caught up in having fun every once in a while. And while breaking rules certainly has its consequences, I don’t think anything as harmless as throwing food around (which he claims to not have done… not sure I believe him) endangers other students at the school.</p>
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<p>I think most do but apparently some on this forum like mom2collegekids do not</p>
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<p>Hmmm, this is interesting - “Planning the food fight”</p>
<p>The OP keeps digging himself a deeper hole here. Based on reading these quotes, it now appears the whole incident was premeditated and the whole chanting that the OP admits to was designed to help incite this food fight</p>
<p>berryberry. why are there people like you, who have to accuse others of everything possible for some unknown reason? he planned it, but later, deliberately canceled it on intercom to the entire school. when it broke out anyway, it was to all of our complete surprise. the chanting was just us being teenagers. we had no intention of starting a food fight in doing so.</p>
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<p>Really??? It seems to have been pretty effective in this case or else the OP would not be all upset over it.</p>
<p>Fact is based on the OP’s statements on this thread - if all he had to do was clean up the mess, he would have likely laughed it off and went on to planning his next bit of mayhem. The OP hasn’t shown he has truly learned from this incident and a lesser punishment certainly would not have helped matters or been at all effective.</p>
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<p>OK, now we are getting somewhere. So, just so we have it straight - you and your friends plan a food fight (your friend is the chief instigator but you all have a part). But then your friend decides this may not be a good idea so he gets on the school intercom and tells the entire school - OOPS, the food fight we planned is cancelled. Yet you and your friends decide to go ahead and engage in a “Senior Power” chant in the cafeteria anyway - which to your great surprise caused everyone to go ahead with the big planned food fight anyway.</p>
<p>Is that about right or do you have more fun details you haven’t told us yet?</p>
<p>You’ve noted several times, yourself, that the OP does not feel remorse over his actions.</p>
<p>Is that not proof that suspensions are ineffective as punishment?</p>
<p>“The fact stands that charismatic smart kids are going to interact with their peers with less leadership skills. I think it’s easy to see how a kid with social skills can get caught into the mindset of being a kid (this food fight is pretty typical of being teenage) and interact with other people.”</p>
<p>Actually, it’s not easy to see that. Charismatic, smart kids whom I knew didn’t follow the examples of less bright kids who thought that things like food fights were fun. At my high school, food fights were considered the fun of the students who were not very bright. Charismatic, smart kids considered more challenging, impressive senior pranks like dismantling the driver ed teacher’s VW and putting it on the school roof. That’s the kind of prank the smart kids at my school planned (I can’t remember if they actually carried it out.)</p>
<p>"suspensions, in general, are rarely effective punishments, for instead of encouraging positive action, they tell the student “don’t do anything”. </p>
<p>They tell the kid and other students not to break school rules unless they want to risk their post high school options. The students certainly can do productive things, just not stupid things like flinging food around or otherwise breaking school rules.</p>
<p>If the school were to give a slap in the wrist for an elaborately organized food fight, what might students try next as a senior prank?</p>
<p>The SGA prez at my S’s high school got all of the local high schools to collaborate to build a Habitat for Humanity house. That student got the top merit aid at the school of his choice. That’s the kind of leadership and fun activity that impresses admissions officers at top colleges.</p>
<p>"You’ve noted several times, yourself, that the OP does not feel remorse over his actions.</p>
<p>Is that not proof that suspensions are ineffective as punishment?"</p>
<p>Nope. Given the OP’s concern over the repercussions of the suspension, I doubt that he’ll be supporting or participating in other “pranks”. I also bet that the punishments have deterred other students from attempting similar mischief.</p>
<p>Wait… Let me get this straight.</p>
<p>You’re fine with grand theft auto and vandalism, but not a food fight?</p>
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<p>Just because the OP is showing no remorse for his actions is not proof that suspensions are ineffective as punishment.</p>
<p>If all the OP had to do was clean up his mess or serve detention, he also would be showing no remorse for his actions - so under your logic you would say that those too are ineffective punishments.</p>
<p>Given that the OP is on here asking about the potential repercussions of his suspension tells me that the punishment has indeed been effective in letting him know some actions have real consequences</p>
<p>@Northstarmom</p>
<p>While I agree with you 100% in everything you have said so far, I believe your efforts are better spent somewhere else where the person would actually appreciate valid comments. Anything you say they are going to twist it so in their minds they can feel that they are right and just in their beliefs. Do not waste your time anymore with them. Let the adcoms decide whether his incident of maturing will have bearing on where he will be matriculating next year.</p>
<p>“You’re fine with grand theft auto and vandalism, but not a food fight?”</p>
<p>That’s not what I said at all. I said that the smart kids at my high school weren’t considering something as silly and easy as flinging food for their senior prank. They were considering an action that was far more challenging. I’m not saying that dismantling a teacher’s car and putting it on the roof would have been a great idea. The students could have damaged the car, the school, and injured themselves or others. They also could have been suspended or expelled for good reason.</p>
<p>I am saying, though, that planning and accomplishing such an activity would take far more brains and organizational skills than getting people to throw food at each other.</p>
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<p>But with a speeding ticket or traffic ticket, you pay the fine and move on…you don’t have to put it on your college app.</p>
<p>Since people here are insisting that the food fight was so bad because “someone might have gotten hurt” and “you broke a known rule” and “top schools don’t want rule breakers” …well then, if that (mis)logic were to hold, then we need to force kids to put speeding tickets on their college apps because that is MORE dangerous, and such speeding kids CERTAINLY knew the rule not to speed.</p>
<p>Seriously, though, some of y’all need to get a dose of reality. If you think you are being fair, then tell your kids to list their speeding tickets (or other similar infractions) on their college apps to show their colleges that they sometimes break known rules and put other people’s lives in danger, too. ( I think I’m now hearing a lot of hmmphs!)</p>
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<p>I’ve been staying out of this till now. A little research will show you that, over the years, NSM’s advice has been cogent and insightful.</p>
<p>And constructive…</p>
<p>And helpful…</p>
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<p>But you do have to include it in your insurance info, and likely your insurance rates will rise. It’s actually a pretty good analogy.</p>
<p>The whole story just keeps getting more and more complicated and now I wonder if it’s even true.</p>